HANDBOOK
of
PSYCHOLOGY

VOLUME 4
EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Alice F. Healy
Robert W. Proctor
Volume Editors

Irving B. Weiner
Editor-in-Chief

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


➇

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Handbook of psychology / Irving B. Weiner, editor-in-chief.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Contents: v. 1. History of psychology / edited by Donald K. Freedheim — v. 2. Research
methods in psychology / edited by John A. Schinka, Wayne F. Velicer — v. 3. Biological
psychology / edited by Michela Gallagher, Randy J. Nelson — v. 4. Experimental
psychology / edited by Alice F. Healy, Robert W. Proctor — v. 5. Personality and social
psychology / edited by Theodore Millon, Melvin J. Lerner — v. 6. Developmental
psychology / edited by Richard M. Lerner, M. Ann Easterbrooks, Jayanthi Mistry — v. 7.
Educational psychology / edited by William M. Reynolds, Gloria E. Miller — v. 8.
Clinical psychology / edited by George Stricker, Thomas A. Widiger — v. 9. Health psychology /
edited by Arthur M. Nezu, Christine Maguth Nezu, Pamela A. Geller — v. 10. Assessment
psychology / edited by John R. Graham, Jack A. Naglieri — v. 11. Forensic psychology /
edited by Alan M. Goldstein — v. 12. Industrial and organizational psychology / edited

by Walter C. Borman, Daniel R. Ilgen, Richard J. Klimoski.
ISBN 0-471-17669-9 (set) — ISBN 0-471-38320-1 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 1)
— ISBN 0-471-38513-1 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 2) — ISBN 0-471-38403-8 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 3)
— ISBN 0-471-39262-6 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 4) — ISBN 0-471-38404-6 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 5)
— ISBN 0-471-38405-4 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 6) — ISBN 0-471-38406-2 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 7)
— ISBN 0-471-39263-4 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 8) — ISBN 0-471-38514-X (cloth : alk. paper : v. 9)
— ISBN 0-471-38407-0 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 10) — ISBN 0-471-38321-X (cloth : alk. paper : v. 11)
— ISBN 0-471-38408-9 (cloth : alk. paper : v. 12)
1. Psychology. I. Weiner, Irving B.
BF121.H1955 2003
150—dc21
2002066380
Printed in the United States of America.
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4

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1


Editorial Board
Volume 1
History of Psychology

Volume 5
Personality and Social Psychology

Volume 9
Health Psychology

Donald K. Freedheim, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio

Theodore Millon, PhD
Institute for Advanced Studies in
Personology and Psychopathology
Coral Gables, Florida

Arthur M. Nezu, PhD
Christine Maguth Nezu, PhD
Pamela A. Geller, PhD

Volume 2
Research Methods in Psychology


Melvin J. Lerner, PhD
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, Florida

John A. Schinka, PhD
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida

Volume 6
Developmental Psychology

Wayne F. Velicer, PhD
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, Rhode Island

Richard M. Lerner, PhD
M. Ann Easterbrooks, PhD
Jayanthi Mistry, PhD
Tufts University
Medford, Massachusetts

Volume 3
Biological Psychology
Michela Gallagher, PhD
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland
Randy J. Nelson, PhD
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio


Volume 7
Educational Psychology
William M. Reynolds, PhD
Humboldt State University
Arcata, California

Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Volume 10
Assessment Psychology
John R. Graham, PhD
Kent State University
Kent, Ohio
Jack A. Naglieri, PhD
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
Volume 11
Forensic Psychology
Alan M. Goldstein, PhD
John Jay College of Criminal
Justice–CUNY
New York, New York

Gloria E. Miller, PhD
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado

Volume 12
Industrial and Organizational
Psychology


Volume 4
Experimental Psychology

Volume 8
Clinical Psychology

Walter C. Borman, PhD
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida

Alice F. Healy, PhD
University of Colorado
Boulder, Colorado

George Stricker, PhD
Adelphi University
Garden City, New York

Daniel R. Ilgen, PhD
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Robert W. Proctor, PhD
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana

Thomas A. Widiger, PhD
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky


Richard J. Klimoski, PhD
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

v



Handbook of Psychology Preface

Psychology at the beginning of the twenty-first century has become a highly diverse field of scientific study and applied
technology. Psychologists commonly regard their discipline
as the science of behavior, and the American Psychological
Association has formally designated 2000 to 2010 as the
“Decade of Behavior.” The pursuits of behavioral scientists
range from the natural sciences to the social sciences and embrace a wide variety of objects of investigation. Some psychologists have more in common with biologists than with
most other psychologists, and some have more in common
with sociologists than with most of their psychological colleagues. Some psychologists are interested primarily in the behavior of animals, some in the behavior of people, and others
in the behavior of organizations. These and other dimensions
of difference among psychological scientists are matched by
equal if not greater heterogeneity among psychological practitioners, who currently apply a vast array of methods in many
different settings to achieve highly varied purposes.
Psychology has been rich in comprehensive encyclopedias and in handbooks devoted to specific topics in the field.
However, there has not previously been any single handbook
designed to cover the broad scope of psychological science
and practice. The present 12-volume Handbook of Psychology was conceived to occupy this place in the literature.
Leading national and international scholars and practitioners
have collaborated to produce 297 authoritative and detailed
chapters covering all fundamental facets of the discipline,

and the Handbook has been organized to capture the breadth
and diversity of psychology and to encompass interests and
concerns shared by psychologists in all branches of the field.
Two unifying threads run through the science of behavior.
The first is a common history rooted in conceptual and empirical approaches to understanding the nature of behavior.
The specific histories of all specialty areas in psychology
trace their origins to the formulations of the classical philosophers and the methodology of the early experimentalists, and
appreciation for the historical evolution of psychology in all
of its variations transcends individual identities as being one
kind of psychologist or another. Accordingly, Volume 1 in
the Handbook is devoted to the history of psychology as
it emerged in many areas of scientific study and applied
technology.

A second unifying thread in psychology is a commitment
to the development and utilization of research methods
suitable for collecting and analyzing behavioral data. With
attention both to specific procedures and their application
in particular settings, Volume 2 addresses research methods
in psychology.
Volumes 3 through 7 of the Handbook present the substantive content of psychological knowledge in five broad
areas of study: biological psychology (Volume 3), experimental psychology (Volume 4), personality and social psychology (Volume 5), developmental psychology (Volume 6),
and educational psychology (Volume 7). Volumes 8 through
12 address the application of psychological knowledge in
five broad areas of professional practice: clinical psychology
(Volume 8), health psychology (Volume 9), assessment psychology (Volume 10), forensic psychology (Volume 11), and
industrial and organizational psychology (Volume 12). Each
of these volumes reviews what is currently known in these
areas of study and application and identifies pertinent sources
of information in the literature. Each discusses unresolved issues and unanswered questions and proposes future directions in conceptualization, research, and practice. Each of the

volumes also reflects the investment of scientific psychologists in practical applications of their findings and the attention of applied psychologists to the scientific basis of their
methods.
The Handbook of Psychology was prepared for the purpose of educating and informing readers about the present
state of psychological knowledge and about anticipated advances in behavioral science research and practice. With this
purpose in mind, the individual Handbook volumes address
the needs and interests of three groups. First, for graduate students in behavioral science, the volumes provide advanced
instruction in the basic concepts and methods that define the
fields they cover, together with a review of current knowledge, core literature, and likely future developments. Second,
in addition to serving as graduate textbooks, the volumes
offer professional psychologists an opportunity to read and
contemplate the views of distinguished colleagues concerning the central thrusts of research and leading edges of practice in their respective fields. Third, for psychologists seeking
to become conversant with fields outside their own specialty
vii